Bobcats fall late to PV soccer, 2-1

Though the game was scoreless, Pleasant Valley High varsity girls soccer coach Brett Silva cautioned his team at halftime that Paradise was dominating the Vikings at both ends of the field.

"Paradise was outplaying us pure and simple," Silva said. "When it came down to the second half I told them, 'We're not winning the ball in the air, if you're not going to head the ball, if you want to protect your pretty face, then you're in the wrong game."

The Vikings answered the coach's plea for more aggressive play with a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes to beat Paradise at home, 2-1 and clinch the Eastern Athletic League season series between the two schools Tuesday afternoon.

The game-winner came off the foot of Karina Torres, after the junior, ninth-leading goal-scorer in the Northern Section, buried a penalty kick in the closing minutes off the post into the left corner of the net.

"Some referees might have let it go, but if a referee has been watching you and someone else go at it for 15 minutes, (the call) didn't surprise me," Silva said.

Paradise coach Rachel LeDuc said it was an extremely close call that she admittedly didn't see very well due to her angle.

"My players of course were questioning it," she said. "It was just a hard play."

Paradise largely dominated over half the game, beginning with a scoreless first half, where PV (12-2-1, 4-1 EAL) had four shots turned away by junior goalkeeper Elisabeth Earley and the Bobcat defense. Paradise (9-5, 3-3) struck first early in the second half, when senior forward Ali Rank collected her own rebound and put one past Viking goalkeeper Brenna Meier for a 1-0 lead at the 43rd minute.

Two minutes later, sophomore Sarah White nearly put Paradise up 2-0 had it not been for the arm of Meier.

The PV junior and second-ranked goalkeeper in the section turned away White's attempt from near point-blank range with a diving one-handed stop to the right for one of her five saves.

The Vikings equalized at the 65th minute on a goal from sophomore Haley Lynch. However, immediately following the scoring play, Madison Alloway re-injured her ankle, forcing the freshman phenom and the 5th-best goal-scorer in the section to the sidelines for a minute or two.

"She's got a sprain that people have been hitting all year long," Silva said.

Alloway returned to action, yet couldn't help the Vikings get the game-winner, despite numerous runs at the goal that were eventually turned away by Earley.

"Paradise could have had that game won but ." Silva said.

Torres came through in the closing minutes with her second game-winner over Paradise this season.

"I tell my girls you get in the box, they got to let you shoot or they take a chance at fouling you," Silva said.

LeDuc feels Paradise was a play or two away from stealing this one, and she knows her team will be ready for the third and final match-up with the Vikings later this season.

"PV is a strong team, we've always known that," she said, "but we can hang (and) we got another shot at them."

Paradise returns home to host Oroville in the nightcap of a Thursday doubleheader with the boys team at roughly 5:15 p.m. PV, meanwhile travels to Oroville to take on Las Plumas at 3:15 p.m. Thursday at Harrison Stadium.

Boys

PV 9, Paradise 1

The Vikings scored nine unanswered goals, en route to a 9-1 win at home over Paradise Tuesday afternoon.

The Vikings improved to 13-1-1 overall and 6-0 in EAL play, while Paradise dropped to 0-11-1 and 0-6 in league. The Bobcats led this one early, 1-0.